The Food Surveillance Programme is designed to control and prevent food hazards. It is a key component of the Centre's food safety assurance programme and is aimed to find out the safety of our food supply.

Inspectors of the Centre take samples at import, wholesale and retail levels for microbiological, chemical and radiation testings. Microbiological testing covers both bacteria and viruses, while chemical testing includes natural toxins, food additives and contaminants. The Centre will continue to promote public awareness and promulgate surveillance results for public information.

The food surveillance programme will be strengthened by making it more risk-based and with a wider coverage. A Food Research Laboratory has been set up within the Public Health Laboratory Centre, which was completed in late 2001. The laboratory researches conducted will provide scientific data for risk assessment and formulation of food surveillance strategies.

To be in line with the international trend of putting more focus on target-based surveillance, the CFS has started to adopt a more targeted and client-oriented approach since 2007. It is a three-tier approach to food surveillance consisting of routine food surveillance, targeted food surveillance and seasonal food surveillance.